Boomerang

God wants to restore people to Himself; when we sin against Him, He makes a way for us to receive forgiveness, and for the person who has strayed from Him, God can bring that person back.  Hosea 6
issues an invitation:
1 Come, and let us return to the Lord; For He has torn, but He will heal us; He has stricken, but He will bind us up.
2 After two days He will revive us; On the third day He will raise us up, That we may live in His sight.
3 Let us know, Let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord. His going forth is established as the morning; He will come to us like the rain, Like the latter and former rain to the earth.

In our relationship with Christ, there may be times in which we are not walking as closely as we think we should or as God would desire for us to.  Fortunately, out of His great love for us, He can restore us into fellowship with Himself.  We have to lay down our lives so that we can experience the fullness of His abundant life.  But, we can be confident that God hasn't given up on us and He makes a way for us to grow in Him.

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You are probably familiar with the story of the prodigal son that Jesus shared; we read it in Luke 15.
A man had two sons, and the youngest took his inheritance and squandered it. Beginning in verse 17,  we read about his return, beginning with an eye-opening moment; we see these words:
17 But when he came to himself, he said, 'How many of my father's hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!
18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you,
19 and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants." '

Last month, I commented on Barna's research on young people and their spiritual habits, emphasizing the concept of spiritual resiliency.  That characteristic actually stands in contrast with the number of young people who are leaving the church.  A recent Christian Headlines piece highlights this departure.

The article said that:

In a Barna Group research analysis done by assistant professor of political science at Eastern Illinois University and pastor of First Baptist Church of Mt. Vernon, Illinois, Ryan Burge, showed that those born between 1965 and 1984 were much less likely to return to church than those born between 1945 and 1964.

The data, Burge said, should have major implications for the way ministry is done in today’s evangelical church.

That article quotes from a Christian Post story, in which Burge is quoted as saying: “No church should assume that this crucial part of the population is going to return to active membership as their parents once did.” He adds, “If churches are sitting back and just waiting for all their young people to flood back in as they move into their 30s, they are likely in for a rude awakening...Inaction now could be creating a church that does not have a strong future.”

According to the Post:

In Burge’s analysis of the boomer generation, four different five-year cohorts reflected the “trademark hump” supported by traditional social science “when each birth cohort moves into the 36–45 age range. That’s exactly what the life cycle effect would predict: People settle down, they have kids, and they return to church.”

When he examined data for the younger cohorts 1965-1969, 1975-1979 and 1980-1984, the data show a fading of the life cycle effect. While the hump is still there in the cohort measured from 1965-1969, a shift in the life cycle effect begins to emerge by around 1970.

On the Barna website, Burge provides some graphs and analysis and outlines the so-called "life cycle effect."  He writes:

If you’ll allow some generalizations, the life cycle effect is commonly explained like this: Typically, young people attend church at a fairly high rate as they move through their grade school and high school years. Often, this is because their parents require their attendance, though many also enjoy youth group trips and activities. However, as they graduate high school and move into college or career, large shares of them begin to drift away from home and many of the social institutions that were crucial in their early development. A young person’s twenties are usually filled with lots of volatility. We can assume this season often includes a lot of moves, job changes and romantic relationships.

But, as he says, "Eventually, the lives of these young people begin to stabilize." He points out that perhaps they enter into marriage and have children. And, then..."As their children move into school age, they want them to have the same type of moral foundation that they grew up with, so they head back to church."

Burge contends that "life cycle effect" can no longer be counted on for those who were born in the early 80's, which means they are now in their 30's.  He writes at the Barna site: "I think one path forward is for churches to become intentional about providing welcoming and engaging spaces for parents of infants and toddlers."

The data suggests younger people are not coming back to church. There are no doubt multiple reasons.  But, we can remember the spiritual void that the Church can address has not changed. And, we can trust that the Lord will move in a person's heart and he or she will respond to Him.  Think about the parable of the prodigal son - God delights in bringing people back home to Him.
We can rejoice in God's capability to move in a person's heart.  There are those who want to pronounce the death of the modern-day evangelical church; I don't believe that is going to happen.  Because...

...God is powerful and He is moving.  Sometimes we can get so caught up in the negative and become divided and discouraged.  We can emphasize the fruit of a right relationship with Almighty God through Jesus Christ.

And, to the Church, we can consider the need to be intentional.  The survey indicates that the results of life cycles that has been at play indicate that young people who leave in their teens and twenties will come back.  This research instructs us not to make assumptions.